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Rasmussen was not on the Detroit Red Wings’ lineup sheet for their Monday game against the Canadiens at Bell Centre, getting the hook even as a handful of veteran forwards have had rough starts to the season. Coach Jeff Blashill pointed to Rasmussen’s performances against Boston and Toronto as the reason.

“He’s had a tough last couple games, so we are going to give him a chance to take a little breather, watch from up top,” Blashill said Monday. “See what he can learn from watching and then get back at it on Wednesday and fight his way back into a good spot. With all our young players, we are extremely cognizant of what’s best for their long-term development.”

Rasmussen, 19, was disappointed.

“I want to play, help the team,” he said. “Different parts of the game are tough, but I think I am doing a lot of positive things in a lot of areas. I trust Blash and I trust the coaches to make good decisions for me so I am just going to go up there and learn.”

With Martin Frk getting the nod to make his season debut, a forward had to come out. Rasmussen, who even at 6-foot-6 is going through an adjustment period as he learns to play against men, hasn't distinguished himself — he has one assist in five games, during which he averaged 12:34 minutes per game, 2:05 of that coming on power plays.

But there are veterans who have had noticeably bad starts, such as Justin Abdelkader (no points, minus-5 in five games) and Thomas Vanek (no points, minus-6).

Asked if there wasn’t another forward more deserving of getting the hook, Blashill reiterated he sees it as an opportunity for Rasmussen to benefit.

“If he’s out for two weeks, that’s a real question,” Blashill said. “A huge part of development is putting him in position to succeed. Sometimes taking a break, whether it’s a break to learn new habits or a break to get a breather a little bit — when it starts to go the wrong way as a player, sometimes you need some help and I am giving him what I think is some help.

Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen gets tangled up with Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith during the second period of the Wings' 3-2 preseason win over the Penguins on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018, in Pittsburgh.(Photo: Charles LeClaire USA TODAY Sports)

“The thing that he has to learn is to make sure that he’s skating the second he gets that puck, otherwise people are on top of him too quick and that’s something we’ve talked about. It’s something he would have gotten away with at the junior level that he’s not getting away with now and just to learn that space. We need big men in the o-zone to hold onto the puck and he is a guy who can do it, he just has to learn how to knock people off as they’re checking him and find ways to hold onto the puck a little bit more.”

Rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski just spent two games watching from the press box as he recovered from an upper-body injury, and said it was helpful to see the game from that angle.

“Getting to watch the defensemen on both teams, seeing what they do, seeing what their tendencies are — watching the older guys and trying to learn from them, it is of good value to be up there for a few games,” Cholowski said.

Red Wings left wing Tyler Bertuzzi tries to move the puck around the net as Bruins players John Moore (27) and Brandon Carlo defend during the first period on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, in Boston. Mary Schwalm, AP

Red Wings left wing Darren Helm keeps an eye on the puck as Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller falls to the ice during the first period during the first period on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, in Boston. Mary Schwalm, AP

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Maybe Rasmussen will benefit from sitting out a game, even two. But ultimately he needs to play, and play regularly.

The Wings don’t have the option to send Rasmussen to Grand Rapids because he has a year left of junior eligibility, so he either has to be with them or his junior team (Filip Zadina was an exception because he was a European player on loan to his Canadian junior club, making him AHL eligible).

It will be interesting to see if Rasmussen returns to the lineup as soon as next game (Thursday at Tampa Bay). If he plays more than nine games with the Wings, it burns a year of his entry-level contract, even if he ends up being returned to his junior team.

Part of the reason the Wings had Rasmussen earmarked for their squad during the offseason was how he dominated last season in juniors: 28 points the last 25 regular-season games for Tri-City, then 33 points in 14 playoff games.

Blashill was asked if he still sees Rasmussen as NHL ready this season.

“I think Ras is going to be a real good NHL player,” Blashill said. “I have tons of belief in him. I’m hoping he’s an even better player next time he plays and he keeps taking steps in the right direction. I think he’s going to be a real good NHL player. How quick? We’ll see.”

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.